Learning-Strategies-and-Digital-Interventions--An-Analysis-of-the-Context-of-Education-for-Sustainable-Development

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Learning Strategies and Digital Interventions: An Analysis of the Context of 
Education for Sustainable Development 
 
Disertación para obtener el grado de: 
Doctor en Innovación Educativa 
Presenta: 
 
Irais Monserrat Santillán Rosas 
ID Number: A01034323 
 
Dissertation Advisor: 
Doctor Yolanda Heredia Escorza 
 
Monterrey, Nuevo León, México April 2020 
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Acknowledgements 
First and foremost, to my loving parents, Irais and Roberto, who have always supported 
my dreams and adventures, including this one. Thank you for teaching me resilience and to 
not give up, even when things definitely don’t turn out as expected. It was through your love 
and patience that I was inspired to dream big. For that and much more, from the bottom of 
my heart, thank you. 
I wish to express my sincere appreciation my supervisor, Professor Yolanda Heredia, 
who was patient and kind through my learning process. She guided and encouraged me, even 
when I felt overwhelmed by the amount of data. Without her persistent help, the goal of this 
project would not have been realized. 
I am indebted to my sister, Marina, who brewed me countless cup of coffee while I 
worked on this thesis. Thank you for not giving me a hard time whenever I forgot to wash 
my cup right away. You were there for me through the hardest moments, and your kindness 
and patience were key. Thank you, petite. 
I would like to recognize and thank Professor Russell and Professor Okawa, who 
welcomed me with open arms to their countries and research departments, providing 
insightful advice that motivated me to pursue with even more dedication the completion of 
this document. For believing in my project and myself, thank you. 
Finally, I wish to express my gratitude to my friends and colleagues, my Ph.D family. 
Thank you for the advice, the support and the constant reminder that everything would be 
okay in the end. Chema, Noé, Esmeralda, Brenda, and Nancy, I will always feel thankful that 
I got to walk this path with you. Thank you for all the advice and the countless thesis sessions 
we had to give each other support. I look forward to our future collaborations. 
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Abstract 
 
The present document proposes explorative and explicative research with the purpose 
to determine if the implementation of Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCS) can help 
achieve the Education for Sustainable Development goals according to the conceptual 
framework issued by UNESCO by promoting education for sustainable development 
prompts and exercises. This study is of a mixed nature, for there are two methodology phases: 
First, the gathering of quantitative data through four online surveys that were run at the 
beginning and the end of the course, and second, the gathering of qualitative data that was 
obtained through sixteen semi-structured interviews that were made to users. Eight of the 
users interviewed left the course unfinished, and eight of them completed the MOOC 
successfully. The intention of selecting both types of users is to listen to the voice of the 
participants and to comprehend their main motivations, complaints, and hopes for future 
MOOCs that might be designed in down the road in order to teach about education for 
sustainable development. A proposal, pinpointing the main elements that the participants 
found attractive when signing up to the course, as well as the feedback that was received 
directly from the interviews that were made, presents a summary of whether the participant's 
expectations were met, as well as an analysis comparing the answers obtained before and 
after the course intervention to determine if there was a significant change or not in the 
participant's awareness of sustainability and its importance for future generations. 
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Table of Contents 
 
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................................ 2 
ABSTRACT ................................................................................ ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. 
CHAPTER 1. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ..................................................................................... 9 
BACKGROUND ................................................................................................................................. 9 
MASSIVE OPEN ONLINE COURSE, MOOCS .................................................................................. 14 
OTHER STRATEGIES DEVELOPED TO SPREAD EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ... 24 
THE MEXICAN ENERGY REFORM .................................................................................................. 26 
THE BI-NATIONAL LABORATORY ON SMART SUSTAINABLE ENERGY MANAGEMENT AND 
TECHNOLOGY TRAINING ............................................................................................................... 29 
SUSTAINABLE VALUES, ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIORS ................................................................................. 31 
CHAPTER 2. PROBLEM STATEMENT ........................................................................................... 33 
DEFINITION OF EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT .................................................. 36 
WORLDWIDE PRACTICES TO TEACH ABOUT SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ................................ 37 
MEXICO ........................................................................................................................................... 37 
JAPAN ............................................................................................................................................. 42 
UNITED STATES ................................................................................................................................. 43 
RESEARCH PROBLEM .................................................................................................................... 44 
RESEARCH QUESTIONS ................................................................................................................. 47 
RESEARCH PURPOSE ..................................................................................................................... 48 
RESEARCH JUSTIFICATION ............................................................................................................ 48 
RESEARCH LIMITATIONS ............................................................................................................... 50 
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CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY ...................................................................................................... 52 
RESEARCH DESIGN ....................................................................................................................... 52 
RESEARCH CONTEXT .................................................................................................................... 52 
POPULATION AND SAMPLE ........................................................................................................... 55 
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS .......................................................................................................... 56 
PILOT TEST IMPLEMENTATION ..................................................................................................... 74 
ANALYSIS STRATEGIES ................................................................................................................. 77 
CHAPTER 4. RESULTS ................................................................................................................. 80 
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................. 80 
INITIAL DEMOGRAPHIC SURVEY RESULTS ............................................................................................... 83 
INITIAL DEMOGRAPHIC SURVEY RESULTS FROM THE WHOLE POPULATIONOF ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS ............... 84 
SELECTED SAMPLE RESULTS FROM THE INITIAL DEMOGRAPHIC SURVEY .................................................... 109 
PRE-MOOC EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT SURVEY ........................................................ 123 
PRE-MOOC SURVEY EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT RESULTS (PRE AND POST SAMPLE) ......... 132 
EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT POST-MOOC SURVEY ...................................................... 138 
RELIABILITY OF POST-MOOC ESD SURVEY .......................................................................................... 138 
POST-MOOC SURVEY EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT RESULTS ......................................... 139 
EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PRE AND POST SURVEY RESULTS ......................................... 146 
PRE-UNDERSTANDING CONTENT VS. POST UNDERSTANDING CONTENT .................................................... 148 
PRE-UNDERSTANDING VS. POST UNDERSTANDING SUSTAINABILITY ......................................................... 151 
PRE SDG-AWARENESS VS. POST SDG AWARENESS ............................................................................... 155 
PRE-DIGITAL INTERVENTION VS. POST DIGITAL INTERVENTION ................................................................ 159 
PRE-EXTRACURRICULAR VS. POST EXTRACURRICULAR ............................................................................ 164 
PRE CURRICULAR VS. POST CURRICULAR ............................................................................................. 168 
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PRE-LIFESTYLE VS. POST LIFESTYLE ..................................................................................................... 171 
PRE-WASTE REDUCTION VS. POST WASTE REDUCTION .......................................................................... 176 
PRE-RECYCLING VS. POST RECYCLING .................................................................................................. 180 
PRE-TRANSPORTATION VS. POST TRANSPORTATION .............................................................................. 184 
PRE-ECOLOGICAL PROBLEM VS. POST ECOLOGICAL PROBLEM ................................................................. 188 
PRE-ECONOMIC PROBLEM VS. POST ECONOMIC PROBLEM ..................................................................... 193 
PRE-SOCIAL PROBLEM VS. POST SOCIAL PROBLEM ................................................................................ 198 
END OF COURSE SURVEY RESULTS ...................................................................................................... 202 
WHOLE SAMPLE RESULTS FROM THE END OF THE COURSE SURVEY .......................................................... 202 
SELECTED SAMPLE RESULTS FROM THE END OF THE COURSE SURVEY ....................................................... 212 
INITIAL AND END OF COURSE PRE AND POST SURVEY RESULTS ................................................................ 222 
PRE-TRAINING NEEDS VS. POST TRAINING NEEDS ................................................................................. 222 
PREPROFESSIONALDEVELOPMENT VS POSTPROFESSIONALDEVELOPMENT ................................................. 227 
PRE PROFESSIONAL NETWORKING VS POST PROFESSIONAL NETWORKING ................................................. 235 
PRE ACADEMIC FORMATION VS. POST ACADEMIC FORMATION ............................................................... 239 
PREPERSEVERANCE VS. POSTPERSEVERANCE ........................................................................................ 243 
PRE ICT SKILLS VS. POST ICT SKILLS .................................................................................................... 247 
PRE-DIGITAL TOOLS VS. POST DIGITAL TOOLS ...................................................................................... 250 
PRETECHNOLOGICAL PLATFORM VS. POSTTECHNOLOGICAL PLATFORM .................................................... 255 
PRESEEK INFORMATION VS. POSTSEEK INFORMATION ........................................................................... 259 
PRESOCIAL MEDIA VS. POSTSOCIAL MEDIA ......................................................................................... 263 
PRECOURSE CONTENT VS. POSTCOURSE CONTENT ............................................................................... 267 
PREHANDS ON EXPERIENCE VS. POSTHANDS ON EXPERIENCE ................................................................. 271 
PRELEARNING VS. POSTLEARNING ...................................................................................................... 275 
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PRESOLVE CHALLENGES VS. POSTSOLVE CHALLENGES ............................................................................ 279 
PRE INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS VS. POST INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS .............................................................. 284 
QUALITATIVE RESULTS ...................................................................................................................... 288 
CATEGORIES THAT AROSE FROM THE INTERVIEWS .................................................................................. 288 
RESULTS OBTAINED FROM THE INTERVIEWS .......................................................................................... 299 
ANSWERS BY PARTICIPANTS WHO ANSWERED BOTH PRE AND POST INSTRUMENTS ....................................... 299 
RESULTS OBTAINED FROM THE INTERVIEWS THAT WERE CONDUCTED ........................................................ 338 
ANSWERS BY PARTICIPANTS WHO ANSWERED ONLY THE PRE INSTRUMENTS ............................................... 338 
RESEARCH QUESTIONS ANSWERED ..................................................................................................... 360 
CHAPTER 5. FINAL DISCUSSION AND FUTURE RESEARCH ......................................................... 365 
REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................ 380 
APPENDICES ............................................................................................................................ 386 
APPENDIX 1. PRE-SURVEY .......................................................................................................... 386 
APPENDIX 2. POST-SURVEY ........................................................................................................ 392 
APPENDIX 3. SEMIESTRUCTURED INTERVIEW SCRIPT ................................................................ 398 
APPENDIX 4. INTERVIEW PARTICIPANT A ................................................................................... 401 
APPENDIX 5. INTERVIEW PARTICIPANT B ................................................................................... 407 
APPENDIX 6. INTERVIEW PARTICIPANT C ................................................................................... 412 
APPENDIX 7. INTERVIEW PARTICIPANT D ................................................................................... 418 
APPENDIX 8. INTERVIEW PARTICIPANT E ................................................................................... 423 
APPENDIX 9. INTERVIEW PARTICIPANT F ................................................................................... 427 
APPENDIX 10. INTERVIEW PARTICIPANT G ................................................................................. 431 
APPENDIX 11. INTERVIEW PARTICIPANT H ................................................................................. 434 
APPENDIX 12. INTERVIEW PARTICIPANT I .................................................................................. 438 
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APPENDIX 13. INTERVIEW PARTICIPANT J .................................................................................. 441 
APPENDIX 14. INTERVIEW PARTICIPANT K ................................................................................. 443 
APPENDIX 15. INTERVIEW PARTICIPANT L .................................................................................445 
APPENDIX 16. INTERVIEW PARTICIPANT M ................................................................................ 447 
APPENDIX 17. INTERVIEW PARTICIPANT N ................................................................................. 449 
APPENDIX 18. INTERVIEW PARTICIPANT O ................................................................................. 451 
APPENDIX 19. INTERVIEW PARTICIPANT P ................................................................................. 453 
 
 
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Chapter 1. Theoretical Framework 
Background 
To this day, humankind has found different types of energy sources, such as fossil fuels, 
carbon, natural gas, natural gas liquid, crude oil, nuclear energy and power, hydroelectricity, 
wind, solar and even geothermal power (Sherlock, 2017). In recent years, however, the high 
prices of gasoline and natural gas as well as an increasing awareness to protect the Earth's 
environment have intensified the interest on the discovery, use and application of renewable 
energy sources around the world. Reducing the use of fossil fuels can decrease the 
contamination level in air and water (Duarte, 2006). The development of clean energy 
sources in Western Europe and Japan can motivate and have a positive effect in the creation 
of new politics that promote the use of renewable energy sources (Congressional Digest, 
2007). 
Two events that marked an important change in the education for sustainable 
development were the Earth Charter Commission and the Declaration of Thessaloniki. Both 
took place in 1997, after the Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit failed to reach an agreement on 
how governments should protect the future of planet Earth (Emilsa & Castillo, 2007). 
The Commission undertook the task to write out the Earth Charter and insisted that the 
administration of all nations had to make a commitment to the wellbeing (the state of being 
comfortable, healthy and happy) of future generations: “Humanity is part of a vast universe 
in evolution. The Earth, our home, is alive with a unique community of life (...) It is 
imperative that us, the people of the Earth, declare ourselves responsible to others, to the 
biggest community of life and to future generations” (SEMARNAT, 2007) (OECD, 2014). 
UNESCO declared the years between 2005 and 2014 “The United Nations Decade of 
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Education for Sustainable Development,” presenting tools of international convergence 
which had the main goal to strengthen the understanding of education as a vital tool for 
sustainable development in the future (De Sousa, A. C., & Uceda I Maza, F. X., 2017). 
One of the foundations of the Decade for ESD was that UNESCO added to its agenda 
the goal that individuals around the world had to promote attitudes and take on the 
responsibility of satisfying their own needs at the present time without compromising the 
possibilities of upcoming generations to fulfill their own needs in (UNESCO, 2012). At the 
end of the decade, one key element evaluated was the participation of the educational 
community and social groups at the moment to reflect what changes could be done in daily 
life in order to make a positive impact for sustainable development in their surroundings, 
taking into account the configurations that took place in education and the role it played to 
meet the demands in their own educational setting. 
This contributed to the creation of critical senses, greatly supported in promoting the 
understanding of the environmental dimension as a process that includes “a group of actors 
in the educational universe, with the purpose of comprehensively strengthening the 
commitment made by all of them. It implies thinking in the reality underneath the paradigm 
of complexity and define it as a new rationality and a space where nature, society, values and 
culture join” (De Sousa, A. C., & Uceda i Maza, F. X. (2017). 
In 2015, UNESCO revealed the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted by 
the global community with the objective to achieve a better world in 2030 (UNESCO, 2017). 
The goal number 4.7 talks about education, Education for Sustainable Development, and the 
related approaches, such as the Global Citizenship Education. Nowadays, UNESCO is 
responsible for the Global Action Programme (GAP) on ESD (UNESCO, 2017). 
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Since its announcement, a lot of nations, such as Spain, Mexico, United States and 
Japan have started their own efforts to teach and considerate UNESCO's goals at the moment 
of planning their curricular activities. One example is the Network of School for 
Sustainability in Catalonia (XESC). Their purpose is to “collaborate in the formation of the 
faculty and facilitate teaching and internal debate resources to keep pushing forward the 
conceptualization of Education for Sustainable Development.” Currently, the Network 
counts with more than 800 Catalan schools (Generalitat de Catalunya, 2019). It is important 
to notice that being part of this network does not only imply to adapt the school curriculum 
to cover the subjects appropriate for sustainable development, but it aims to involve the 
educational community in the project and modify the teaching methodologies with projects 
in which students take the lead role and teachers work more as facilitators than educators. It 
also aims to promote creativity, responsibility, equality, inclusion, and ecology values, as 
well as to bring raise of global issues (XESC, 2018). 
Another example is the Network of Sustainable Schools of Terrassa (XEST), which 
holds events such as the Jornada de Intercambio de Experiencias de las Escuelas (Sharing 
Day of School Experiences), in which students present projects carried out in their school 
about environmental issues and sustainability. The third edition of this event took place in 
November 2018 in the Assembly Hall of the Central Library of Terrassa; 17 schools 
participated and presented 14 different projects. This Sharing Day takes place every two 
years and it helps maintain an active communication among schools of the Network 
(Ayunamiento de Terrassa, 2018). 
Another important network is E-9, which existed before the announcement of the SDGs. 
The E-9 is a forum of nine countries that look to reach the goals of the movement Education 
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for All (EFA) by UNESCO. The “E” stands for education and “9” represents the nine 
participant countries: Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria 
and Pakistan (UNESCO, 2017). This Network opened a dialogue among countries to discuss 
their experiences with education, opening a forum in which they can exchange their best 
practices and monitor progress regarding the EFA goals (Gem Report, 2017). 
The first Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, commented that the Sustainable 
Development Goal number 4 pointed mainly to assuring inclusive and quality education for 
everyone, promoting learning through the life of all the citizens of the world. She declared in 
the inauguration of the ministerial meeting of the E-9 in Dhaka the following: 
As we enter the era of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we must 
align and integrate our initiatives and strategies with the SDG-4 (Education 
2030) carrying out lessons and achievement of the MDGs and the EFA. We are 
living in a world in which we depend on each other despite our cultural diversity, 
religion, race and language. Education can perform the role of bridge between 
the promotion of mutual understanding, tolerance and friendship. (Hasina, 2017) 
Furthermore, research have been carried out to elucidate how the teaching of specific subjects 
contribute to the Education for Sustainability. One example is the teaching of geography in 
Catalonia. The research defines a theoretical proposal of curriculum reorientation of the 
subject geography based on a case study to know the contributions, opportunities, obstacles 
and needs of the facultyteam to achieve the learning goals and geographical scope that they 
wish to develop in their students (Sánchez, 2011). In another research, carried out with the 
contribution of Bandarin, Yang and Bossler, it was concluded that the subject Estudios de 
Patrimonio (Patrimony Studies) points and reflects a lot of the different dimensions of 
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sustainability and sustainable development. The authors also concluded that the inclusion of 
the four dimensions of sustainability (environmental, economic, social and cultural) opened 
a new line of exchange and perspective to the discussion surging among students that took 
the subject (Albert, 2015). 
Besides the national and international networks that were formed through the years and 
the researches that have looked for ways to include these goals in the subjects already 
contemplated in school curricular design, it is important to confront the challenges that 
UNESCO has determined to be able to achieve real sustainable development in the future. 
Table 1 
What are the challenges for sustainable development? (Taken from UN Decade of Education 
for Sustainable Development, 2005-2014: the DESD at a Glance by UNESCO) 
Going beyond environmental education to reach education for sustainable 
development: the concept of sustainable development being closely related throughout 
its evolution to the question of the protection of the planet, environmental education today 
is widely known and practiced. The Decade is not limited, however, to environmental 
education. Developing adequate teaching contents is, thus, a challenge to take up 
immediately. 
Drawing up an inventory of what exists for the Decade: many countries have carried 
out education for sustainable development programs or activities. Identifying these, 
evaluating the results, and disseminating information about them will allow us to 
accelerate the integration of this new vision of education into national plans. 
Mobilizing the media: the media represents a powerful means of awareness-raising and 
dissemination about the principles and values of sustainable development, as well as about 
promising experiences. Making the media an ally for transmitting quality information to 
citizens is a pledge of success for the Decade. 
Establishing partnerships and creating synergies among the initiatives and 
programs: no institution, even at a global scale, can manage to achieve the goals of 
sustainable development on its own. Only united together, from North to South, East to 
West, can we be sure to build a viable world for us and for generations to come. 
 
To achieve this, UNESCO, with the collaboration of international networks and 
educational institutions of all kinds have shared with the world various learning resources 
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and strategies that have been developed in the last 18 years, in order to familiarize and apply 
the SDGs envisioned for 2030. 
 
Figure 1. Illustrative chart of UNESCO Sustainable Development Goals 
 
Massive Open Online Course, MOOCs 
Since their first implementation by George Siemens and Stephen Downes (2008), Massive 
Open Online Courses (MOOCs) opened the door for different people around the world to 
access information acquire knowledge only with a working internet connection. The MOOCs 
are an active example of planned long-distance education, that allow a grand number of users 
to enroll and take a course simultaneously. 
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MOOCs are of an open, participative character and with a methodology based on the 
acquisition of knowledge through self-learning, using the tools provided from the moment of 
enrollment (Downes, 2011). 
They are massive open and online, as their name states, characteristics for which are 
considered an ideal method to share knowledge to those who are interested in going further 
on a specific subject. These courses have been being perfected through time and with the use 
of new technology and resources that help students actively interact with the content. 
Some predecessors of MOOCs helped define some of the main points that would later 
establish the standard for a massive open course online. Open Course Ware, Open 
Classrooms and the open educational resources from UNESCO were pioneers in this format 
(Karaman & Kursun, 2015). 
The term Massive Open Online Course was first formally used by Dave Comier in 
2008, talking about “Connectivism and Connective Knowledge”, a course that is also known 
by researchers as CCK08. This course was taught by George Simen and Stephen Downes, it 
included the participation of 25 students from the University of Manitoba and 2200 online 
students were able to take the course without any cost (Fini, 2009). The content was available 
for the general public through Really Simple Syndication, RSS, a platform online that helps 
spread information in a concise and summarized manner. The students that participated 
online were able to also take part in the course through collaborative digital tools, mainly 
blog entries and open forums (Bartolomé, 2015). 
In 2011, Sebastian Thrun and Peter Norvig of Stanford University, organized a massive 
course on artificial intelligence. Over 160,000 people around the world enrolled, proving the 
reach of online courses. In 2012, the New York Times refers to MOOCs and their strong 
 16 
boom that has started to develop. In fact, 2012 is known as the "Year of the MOOC" 
stablishing that this new learning format will be able to give access to information to a wide 
public with the necessary information and resources to learn any topic (Pérez-Peña, 2012). 
Poy and Aguilar (2014) say that the MOOC format opens the door to develop new 
business models, based on economic gain derived from payment of certificates, credits, 
publicity and subscription of the users that wish to have access to the material online. In other 
words, the course itself is free, but to be able to acquire the official certificate or to be part of 
the restricted access subscription list could become the source of income to those who design 
MOOCs; nonetheless, the knowledge acquired by the user, even without purchasing the 
official certificate, remains. 
There is a constant debate about the advantages and disadvantages of this teaching 
model. Berracosos (2014) stablishes the following advantages and disadvantages of MOOCs: 
Table 2 
Advantages and Disadvantages of Massive Open Online Courses 
Advantages Disadvantages 
The teacher needs to adapt their 
methodologies to the characteristics of a 
network society. 
Standardization of knowledge: the contents 
and activities are the same for all students. 
Redefinition of roles. Absence of a universal design for learning: 
differentiated educational attention. 
Use of evaluation strategies that grant the 
student an active role. 
 
Requires a certain level of digital 
competence and a high level of autonomy 
in learning. 
Flexibility and adaptability of the academic 
offer. 
Lack of knowledge of the development and 
evolution of e-learning. 
The cooperation between different actors 
(teachers and participants). 
Loss of value of the teaching function in 
the teaching-learning processes: evaluation 
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 and tutorship. 
Free access to a wide offer of information 
of international nature. 
Presentation of supposed “educational 
innovations” that are no. 
Development of technological tools to 
support the process of teaching-learning. 
Predominance of the economic perspective 
in front of the pedagogic experimentation 
and education research. 
 
Rita Kop (2010) mentions that there are various factors that could be considered challenges 
for the achievement of the purpose of massive online courses. There are a few key elements 
that define if the subjects enrolled in the course manage to finish it satisfactorily. To be able 
to measure or define these elements, first it is necessary to answer the following question: 
when it is considered that a MOOChas successfully fulfilled its purpose? 
It depends on the MOOC, particularly because the design of every course varies. For 
example, there can be a MOOC in which the final purpose is that the students reach the final 
topic after completing activities; some others, have short tests that want to verify that the 
reading of the content is satisfactorily enough for students to have a general idea of the 
subject; there are even MOOCs that set a minimum percentage to certify that the participants 
met the necessary requirements to get the diploma or credit. 
However, for the purposes of this study, the general purpose of the MOOCs will be 
defined as the following: the subjects enrolled and participated as students in the Massive 
Open Online Course, and were able to acquire new knowledge and know how to apply it 
practically and theoretically. To achieve this, it is indispensable that there is a quality learning 
experience that can guaranty this result. To make this possible, Kop (2011) defines three 
main elements: a high level of autonomy, presence and active learning through connectivism. 
One of the benefits of the MOOCs is they are managed through the web, which opens 
 18 
the communication network to a broader and more accessible people that could even be found 
in different parts of the word; nonetheless, the disadvantage of this benefit is that the teacher, 
instructor or supervisor of the MOOC does not have as much control over students. Given 
that the subject is in their own space, the possibility that they acquire the knowledge they 
look for satisfactorily depends highly on their level of autonomy. This can be a benefit or a 
challenge, depending on everyone. 
Furthermore, there is a relationship formed between the registered participants and the 
work material. According to Weller, there are two traditions that tend to present themselves 
in online learning: one in which the connections are made with other people, and one in which 
the connections ae made to the resources or materials of the online course (Weller, 2007). 
Taking this into account, it is interesting to notice how relationships with online courses work. 
In a traditional classroom context, the teacher presents the content to the student using 
different resources that may include different mediums such as books, presentations, videos, 
audio files or simple conversation; however, in the MOOC context, the type of relationship 
that the students make directly with the learning content is extremely important, particularly 
because they need to initiate a conversation among them during the of the course to prove 
that they have successfully processed the information presented and can test their own 
knowledge. Therefore, there are two kinds of interactions that can take place in a MOOC 
with subcategories that emerge depending the context. 
Table 3 
Interactions between humans and resources 
Interacción Humano- Humano Interacción Humano-Recurso 
Teacher → Student Teacher → Resources 
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Student → Teacher Student (individual) → Resources 
Student → Student Students (group) → Resources 
 
Moreover, the context of a traditional classroom can be summarized the following way: the 
teacher uses the resources to directly transmit the knowledge that is supposed to be acquired 
by students. We can see the relationship between teachers, students and resources illustrated 
in the following diagram: 
 
Figure 2. Traditional classroom 
 
However, in a MOOC, the student must take an active role to be able to be in contact with 
other students and even to be able to find support in the teacher when solving doubts. 
Therefore, the context of MOOCs can be seen as a triangular relationship of all these 
elements. Below, there is a diagram that hopes to graphically present this relationship: 
Teacher
Resources
Students
 20 
 
Figure 3. Interactions in a MOOC 
With the pass of time, there was a fourth element that started to be considered at the moment 
of analyzing the level of autonomy and interest of students: the context where students learn. 
Depending if the environment where students work to focus and dedicate themselves to study, 
or if the use of technology can be a distracting factor that affects the quality of the studying 
time they invest into the acquisition new knowledge; the environment where enrolled 
subjects are plays an important role at the time of evaluating the learning process that takes 
place during a MOOC. 
Sfard (1998) says that there are two metaphors to define in what way people are getting 
involved with knowledge during the learning process. The first refers to the acquisition of 
knowledge. During this stage, students receive knowledge from the teachers in a type of pre-
packaged format designed to be transmitted in a simple and accessible way. For example, 
when teachers ask students to read a specific chapter of a determined book. The material that 
carries the knowledge, the resources that the student needs to becoming acquainted with the 
content of the course is key. During the acquisition of knowledge, it has been observed by 
MOOC
Teacher
StudentResources
 21 
many scientists the behavior and cognitive process, opening the door to a wide variety of 
theories that have looked to regulate formal education through the years. 
The second metaphor or phase that Sfard (1998) talks about is participation. During 
this phase, students begin to have an active role. Through activities and shared discussion, it 
is sought that the participants registered in the course stay awake and participative, which 
facilitates the satisfactory process of received information. This metaphor supports the 
formulation of social theories, like the social constructivism, the action theory and 
community practice. Furthermore, the participation in activities where it is looked to develop 
knowledge is a central axis for these theories (Kop & Hill, 2008). 
Siemens & Downes (2009) proposed learning strategies where there is no need of 
formal teaching. Different dynamics have been proposed to allow the teacher to work more 
as a facilitator than an instructor. There are even scenarios in which the teacher is not needed 
in the process, these helped to study further the connectivism theory (Siemens & Downes, 
2009). 
It is important to notice that in this particular scenario, the phase of participation of the 
subjects that are in the learning process becomes extremely important, as it turns 
indispensable that the subjects take an active role to familiarize themselves and dominate the 
content of the course. During the learning process, the subjects are in contact with their fellow 
students to be able to start a discussion that can facilitate the learning process among them. 
Now students do not depend mainly on the transference of knowledge from the educator to 
them, but there is a new form of interaction that highly depends on the level of commitment 
and autonomy of the student. Below, there is a demonstrative diagram of this: 
 
Teacher supports the Student 
 22 
 
 
Figure 4. Traditional process 
 
 
Figure 5. Connectivism 
This scenario presents itself with frequency in courses available online. Depending on 
the activity of each individual and their commitment to understand and dominate the material 
consolidates the learning process. Furthermore, Kop (2011) says that the learning process for 
online activities is improved with the completion of the following four. The first is to add. 
During this activity, students have access to a wide collection of resources that help them 
read, observe, or play. 
It allows them to interact with the content and begin to familiarize themselves with the 
key elements of their learning subject. The second is to connect. Once the students have 
finished adding new information to their previous knowledge, it is necessary that they begin 
Support eachother Resources
Student 
1
Student 
2
 23 
to use the information in a practical manner and not in a theoretical manner. During this 
activity, a process of reflection begins that can be affected by what the subject already knows 
or past experiences that have helped form a perspective of the world. 
The third activity is to create. Once the students have processed the new information 
in their system, they can begin to create something of their own based in their new acquired 
knowledge. This activity can be rather simple, like writing a blog entry, start a discussion on 
the group forum or even make a video review of the analyzed material. The way is 
unimportant, what matters is that something new is crated based on the new knowledge they 
have acquired. The fourth and last activity is, simply, to share. Today there are a wide variety 
of social media platforms that work to share news, pictures, stories and even knowledge. 
Once the students share their own perspective or interpretation of what they have learned, an 
active participative process begins and puts to practice their new knowledge. This 
participation has been analyzed and considered a main element for the success of online 
courses. 
As mentioned by Canole, de Laat, Dillon & Darby, new forms of learning are required, 
since the present and complex learning environment is constantly changing and improving 
with new technology (Canole, de Laat, Dillon & Darby, 2008). Nonetheless, before 
developing new forms to assimilate information through online courses, it is important to 
define what are the difficulties presented in connectivism and how these challenges can 
define if a MOOC has been successfully completed or not. 
As it was mentioned before, the student enrolled in a course has an active and 
participative role, but also counts with the responsibility to define various elements that were 
previously defined by a teacher in a traditional classroom. It is now up to the student to 
 24 
manage their time, define their learning goals, find the necessary resources when doing a 
research, find new tools that help their leaning process and learn how to use these tools. 
Before, the teacher in the classroom was the one who defined the syllabus, made clear how 
much time should be invested in each activity and tried to support the students with the 
necessary materials; but given that in connectivism the professor plays more the role of a 
facilitator than a teacher, students must define these elements and must demand themselves 
to follow the study regime that they set out for. 
This could be a benefit for the subjects that look for this kind of freedom at the time 
studying. In fact, there is a high chance that the people that look for an online course do it 
because they work during the day and need the flexibility of managing their own time in the 
best way for their personal learning process. Unfortunately, this also means that every student 
has their own needs, contexts, and motivations to participate in an online course. If there is a 
student that is motivated to take an online course but through time finds it difficult to adhere 
themselves to a study plan in which the main judge is the time invested in themselves, then 
it will be difficult for them to dominate satisfactorily the material provided. 
Other Strategies Developed to Spread Education for Sustainable Development 
Besides digital interventions, there are some that take place in more traditional ways, 
though with innovative factors. We understand “traditional” as any intervention that could 
take place in an on-site form or impact the school curriculum. One example of a strategy used 
to spread Education for Sustainable Development are the laboratories of Social Innovations. 
These laboratories have the goal to open a space where companies, governments, the general 
public, and educational institutions can converge (Yañez-Figueroa, Ramírez-Montoya & 
Ramírez-Hernández, 2017). This helps so participants could familiarize themselves with the 
 25 
same topic taking into consideration different experiences and perspectives, as each 
individual share different contexts and personal life lessons. 
This type of intervention has the final goal that participants face the real challenges of 
the outside world, even if they are not aware of the problem at hand before the intervention. 
This is the reason why Education for Sustainable Development can be spread and supported 
by communities through Social Innovation Laboratories. The participants form a professional 
community of learning, are oriented by experts that can guide them through the research 
branch, the sciences linked to the pertinent subject and culminates with the creation of new 
knowledge came from the experiences of all the participants during the laboratory (DuFour, 
2013). 
Another on-site learning strategy are workshops where the participants go through a 
sort of intensive training and process of awareness of the need of a sustainable future to 
ensure the well-being of upcoming generations and the Earth. This kind of workshops are 
usually oriented to social awareness about how the waste of energy and resources can impact 
the world and have repercussions that can affect other humans, living beings and ecosystems. 
When the country in question has reached to consider Education for Sustainable 
Development as a key factor that must be treated in compulsory education, also other 
interventions can be carried out directly in the curriculum of public schools. One example 
took place in Japan from the year 2004, where UNESCO Associated School Project Network 
(MEXT, 2014). Their goals are the following: 
 
Table 4 
The Guidelines for the UNESCO Associated School Project Network (Information taken 
 26 
from MEXT, 2014) 
What is expected of members of the network? 
- Build an open network through collaboration with the different interested parts. 
- Promote the ESD outside the school. 
- Indicate in the school management policies the efforts to implement the activities 
of UNESCO's ASPnet. 
What is expected of the centers to promote ESD? 
- Clarify the qualities and abilities the school wishes to promote through ESD and 
make efforts to design study plans that emphasize in the learning process that lead 
to problem-solving. 
- Make efforts to improve teaching methods. 
- Participate in the research and practice and try to promote the concepts of ESD. 
 
 
The schools that are members of this network make constant changes in their curricula 
to update and implement new awareness strategies to the students on ESD. 
 
The Mexican Energy Reform 
The Energy Reform is a constitutional reform; the initiative was presented by President 
Enrique Peña Nieto the 12th of August 2013. The reform was promulgated by the Executive 
Branch the 20th of December of the same year and published the following day in the Official 
Journal of the Federation (Diario Oficial de la Federación, 2013). Understanding what are 
the objectives of the reform and the impact it has to bring light to the interest of educating 
the Mexican population on the use of renewable energy sources to ensure a sustainable future 
will help define the historical and social context of Mexico in relation to the Education for 
Sustainable Development. 
The laws and regulations that were updated helped trigger investment in the energy 
sector. Furthermore, the number of productive activities that to that moment had been 
 27 
monopolized by the State was restricted. All these changes propelled the restructuration of 
the Productive State Enterprises (EPE in Spanish) and its functions. The changes in the 
energy and tax policy of Mexico updated in the past years to promote national or international 
business opportunities that are interested in investing in the energy sector (DOF, 2013). 
Thanks to the technological advancements of therecent years, particularly in the access 
and processing of oil, the need to regulate the oil industry in Mexico under a new regimen 
became a political matter of great importance. The exploration and production of oil, as the 
industrialization process after the extraction required to be closely regulated. It proposes 
reforms to the articles 25, 27 and 28 of the Constitution. The document rules out the handing 
over of concessions to private individuals and it limits itself to different arrangements of 
contracts or licenses for the exploitation and exploration of the energetic resources in Mexico 
(DOF, 2013). 
The reforms in the constitutional articles regulate the way in which any activity of 
exploration or use of energy should be processed, as much as the ones related to hydrocarbons 
as the ones related to electric power. Under the constitutional articles, in order of importance, 
there are a few secondary laws that play an important role in Mexico's energy market: The 
Ley de Hidrocarburos y the Ley de Petróleos Mexicanos (Law of Hydrocarbons and Law of 
Mexican Oils). These are laws with the most impact in the energy sector (Constitución 
Mexicana, 2018). Both laws are of public interest and have the purpose to regulate the 
organization, management, function, operation, control, evaluation and accountability of the 
productive company of the Mexican Oil State, as well as to establish a special regimen in 
matters of productive subsidiaries and affiliated companies, remuneration, procurement, 
leases, services and works, assets, responsibilities, state-owned dividends, budget and debts 
 28 
relevant to Mexican oil. Moreover, promotes the development of a national electric system 
based on technical and economic principles that will be regulated and ran by the State, trying 
to lower the cost of electric power and natural gas for the final consumer, be it an individual 
or a legal entity. In the process of lowering the cost of electric bills, it is thought to increase 
investment in development of new technologies that facilitate the generation of energy in our 
country, particularly electric power. This is how the use of renewable energy sources creates 
a great opportunity to foster new inventions and business models. Among the ones that show 
more viability, the use of solar power represents an exceptional chance to produce an 
economical revolution in Mexico. 
Thanks to the Energy Reform that started during 2013, a new era of innovation and 
education has started in the country. Constant research in the energy field have led to the 
production of new inventions, business models and work opportunities that will develop in 
upcoming years. 
To ensure that the people who have dedicated their lives to the research and 
development of new inventions or industrial secrets related to the use of renewable energies, 
it is fundamental to educate the future generations on the different kinds of energy sources 
that exist, as well as the fundamental elements that want to achieve sustainable development 
for society. Innovation opens the door to new business models that will develop the economy 
and Mexico's growth in upcoming years. García-Ochoa and Graizbord (2016) proved that the 
energetic poverty in Mexico has reached 36.7% of the Mexican homes. The authors suggest 
integrating this poverty as a key dimension to the national politics of sustainable energy. If 
Mexico is capable to effectively educate its future generations on renewable energies, it is 
expected to reduce the percentages of homes in energetic poverty in the future. 
 29 
The use of renewable energy sources that do not harm the environment and that ensure 
a responsible use will allow to count with the one of the fundamental elements that constitute 
a sustainable society. The Ministry of Energy, Architect Pedro Joaquín Coldwell, mentioned 
during his talk in the Solar World Congress in 2013, that one of the main purposes of the 
Mexican Energy Reform is to promote and multiply the use of clean energies. He also pointed 
out that other goals that the reform seeks to achieve is to improve the Mexican economic 
competitiveness, counting with a more efficient power sector, motivate the funding of top 
infrastructure for a better use of the natural resources of the country, as well as to encourage 
long term equality and social development (SENER, 2013). 
Moreover, the Energy Reform seeks to stablish a normative framework to carry out 
social consultations to the Mexican population in order to encourage active and inclusive 
participation of interested actors in the sector. Using evaluation processes of social impact, 
it looks so identify the benefits and challenges related to the projects that come from said 
reform, with the purpose to define and execute the necessary prevention and mitigation 
measures. Long term, its final goal is to achieve regional sustainable development for the 
Mexican population. 
The Bi-National Laboratory on Smart Sustainable Energy Management and 
Technology Training 
The Bi-National Laboratory on Smart Sustainable Energy Management and 
Technology Training is an initiative that emerged thanks to the collaboration of the Ministry 
of Energy, the National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT) and the Monterrey 
Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM). The goal behind this initiative is to 
place Mexico at the same level of the most developed countries regarding the generation of 
 30 
technology and knowledge about energy. The Bi-National Laboratory is formed by the 
Monterrey Institute of Technology, the National Institute of Technology in Mexico, the 
National Center of Research and Technological Development (CENIDET), the National 
Institute of Clean Power and Energy (INEEL), the Arizona State University (ASU) and the 
Berkeley Energy and Climate Institute (BECI) of the University of California (Ramírez-
Montoya & Mendoza-Domínguez, 2018). 
The responsible use of energy is a key attitude to ensure sustainable development for 
the future of the country, therefore this laboratory, in partnership with various national and 
international institutions, private and public, of higher education looks to provide with tools 
and support in training, research and infrastructure to achieve said goal. 
The Laboratory aims to offer solutions to the sustainability energy challenges face by 
Mexico. The challenges listed in the official web page are as follows: 
- Train talent specialized in the field. 
- Develop intelligent technology to the energy value chain. 
- Offer a group of courses based on MOOC technology to cover the needs of 
training in Mexico. 
- Create cutting-edge infrastructure, physical and virtual, for the construction of 
national networks of research and technology. 
- Explore the potential in new educational tendencies for the development of 
innovative solutions, characterized by citizen participation and the use of digital 
technology. 
With the purpose to accomplish these goals, Mexico has designed and ran 12 MOOCs about 
diverse topics related to the use of sustainable energy in the country. These courses have been 
 31 
created thanks to the collaboration of all the entities that are part of the project. 
 
Sustainable Values, Attitudes and Behaviors 
 In the last 20 years awareness to support a global sustainability transition towards the 
future has become a topic of conversation in a global scale, promoting values, attitudes and 
behaviors that in individual and societal values have impacted the promotion and application 
of sustainable actions. In order to measure the sustainable values and attitudes of the 
participants before and after they participated in the MOOCs, it was important to read about 
what these are and how they can be measured. 
 Leiserowitz et al (2006) define values as abstract ideals that evoke emotional 
reactions and thatdirect towards a specific goal, framing the attitudes and providing 
standards against which the behavior of societies and individuals can be judged with. 
Attitudes, in the other hand, refer to the evaluation of a specific object, quality or behavior 
as something positive or negative, something that can be labeled as good or bad. It is through 
attitudes that we can reflect the abstract values of the users, so in this specific study, since 
we can’t measure the abstract values of the participants, we will try to get an idea of their 
perspective and positions through their attitudes towards diverse approaches to sustainability. 
 Finally, behaviors refer to concrete decisions and actions that can take place by 
individuals and groups of people, often rooted in values and attitudes which shape them. 
Thus, in part of this study we will directly ask the participants if they partake in certain actions 
or not, to measure the kind of sustainable behaviors that they put in action in their daily lives. 
Empirical data related to many of the subcomponents of sustainable development have been 
defined in few multinational and quasi-global surveys of public opinion that review global 
 32 
attitudes and behaviors related to development and the environment, along with their role in 
the application of sustainable development. 
 
 33 
Chapter 2. Problem Statement 
 
With a world population of around 7 billion people, and with a limited amount of 
natural resources, various societies and individuals have stressed on campaigns to promote 
learning in future generation, to be able to coexist in this planet sustainably. The General 
Assembly of the United Nations approved sustainable development for the first time in 1987, 
creating at the same time the concept of education to support it. The initial thoughts on 
Education for Sustainable Development can be seen portrayed in the 36th Chapter of the 
Agenda 21 and mark as main goals "the promotion of education, public awareness and 
training." (UN, 1987) 
Motivated to change this, UNESCO released in 2015 the Sustainable Development 
Goals (SDGs) adopted by the global community with the purpose to reach a better world by 
2030 (UNESCO, 2015). Goal 4.7 talks about education and ESD and related approaches like 
the Global Citizen Education. Currently UNESCO is responsible for the Global Action 
Programme (GAP) on ESD. 
In the case of Mexico, the administration and the organized civil society have promoted 
and started the Environmental Institution Development Program supported by the National 
Association of Universities and Institutions of Higher Education (ANUIES) and the Mexican 
Consortium of University Environmental Programs for Sustainable Development 
(COMPLEXUS). Moreover, the Mexican government has assumed commitments that favor 
sustainable development, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (1992) sponsored 
by the UN, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and Drout (1994), 
Education for Sustainable Development Kyoto Protocol of the United Nations Framework 
 34 
Convention on Climate Change (1998), The Dakar Framework for Action: Education for All: 
Meeting OUR Collective Commitments (2000), Global Citizen Education (2013), and others. 
The Mexican Government has also expressed in different official statements that it considers 
that education is fundamental to reach better conditions for its population. 
During 2006, the Strategy for Environmental Education for Sustainability was 
developed. In its corpus the Environmental Education for Sustainability was defined "with 
the purpose to recognize, strengthen and give continuity to the contributions of over three 
decades of Environmental Education in Mexico." 
The Japanese National Commission for UNESCO, along with the United Nations 
University and the Asia Pacific Cultural Center for UNESCO, celebrated the International 
Forum on ESD Dialogue in 2008. The implementation of activities and studies at local, 
national, regional, and international level started to promote teaching for sustainable 
development was discussed. 
 “Integrated studies” was introduced to the curriculum of Japanese schools at 
elementary school level to superior level of middle school in 2000, before adopting the DESD 
resolution in 2003. This class covers topics through traditional subjects and allows the 
implementation of instruction and learning activities related to education. Some of the topics 
and goals presented in this course include international understanding, information education, 
environmental education, health education, assistance education, and others. 
The knowledge and skills are developed in integrated learning activities and the content 
is based on the personal interests of each student. Integrated Studies works as the base for 
ESD. To move forward with ESD, the programs implemented in this subject must be linked 
integrally and constantly promoting learning activities. To ensure this, the Ministry of 
 35 
Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) supports: 1) The formulation 
of a Base Plan for the promotion of education that identifies ESD as a critical component; 2) 
The revision of study courses to allow ESD topics to enter different subject areas and 3) The 
expansion of the UNESCO Associated School Network (ASPnet) (UNESCO, 2009). 
Moreover, UNESCO introduced strong initiatives of the practice of ESD through 
private companies and non-governmental actors. The Japan Association for International 
Education leads the interactions between researchers and professors of social sciences; 
additionally, the Japanese Society of Environmental Education works constantly with science 
teachers at elementary and middle school level. Both academic societies actively publish 
research papers and activities related to the Education for Sustainable Development. 
On the other hand, the United States has implemented a series of strategies, reports and 
documents that have the aim to offer a general vision of the state of ESD in the US. In 2015, 
a report made by the United States Department of State was issued among professors of the 
ESD Network of Teacher Education of the United States. It has been observed that teacher 
education, in comparison to the rest of higher education, has been reluctant to accept 
sustainability as a key element of the development for the future (Nolet, 2013). 
ESD is still not part of the requirements for teaching certification, but the Association 
for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education has started to include it in its 
curriculum. Some examples of its implementation in the US took place in the Webster 
University School of Education, West Chester University and University of Antioquia (Nolet, 
2009). Along ESD, there has been a great tradition in the United States to bring awareness to 
the new generation about global education (Maguth y Hillburn, 2015) and this topic can be 
seen in the publication Partnerships for 21st Learning, Framework for State Action on 
 36 
Global Education (2014), as one of the crucial issues it discusses it the promotion of global 
and international competences. 
The responsible for the initial training of teachers must arouse the training with global 
content and competencies. The report also recognized the value to encourage the creation of 
networks among teachers and the teachers' educators, and the value of teacher students that 
have international experience. More and more, universities are using the term global 
citizenship in courses and programs taught. 
Besides the support from different administrations, the curricular practices, seminars 
and workshops that are designed to bring awareness in adults and youngsters about 
sustainable development and the efforts made in on-site format to support and raise 
consciousness about the key role of sustainability, it has alsobeen considered the use of 
resources that can teach about these subjects in remote form. For example, an app called 
“SDGs in Action” was developed and shared on the App Store by Apple and the Play Store 
by Google. This app enlists the pending global tasks to reach all the Sustainable Development 
Goals. This app is available thanks to the GSMA Association, which represents over 800 
mobile carriers around the world, and the project Everyone, a global non-profit campaign 
that works to spread the message (UNESCO, 2017). 
Another practice adopted by countries around the world is the promotion of free access 
online courses to bring awareness to its peoples about sustainable development. This is what 
brings us to the research of Massive Open Online Courses, or MOOCs. 
Definition of Education for Sustainable Development 
This construct is composed by two elements: education and sustainable development. 
The Royal Spanish Academy defines education as the “action and effect of educating / raising, 
 37 
teaching and doctrine given to children and youngsters / instruction through teaching work” 
(RAE, 2017). This definition is quite clear; however, it is also interesting to consider, from a 
legal perspective, what is education and why it plays such a fundamental role in our society. 
 
Worldwide Practices to Teach About Sustainable Development 
Mexico 
The Mexican Basic Law, the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States, and 
in the General Law of Education, education is a basic right of every man and woman for their 
quality as human beings (Constitución de México, 2018). The Article makes it a State duty 
to legally protect this right for every Mexican citizen. According to Bracho (2009), it is in 
this article where “a fundamental social election is expressed, that is part of the kind of 
society we want to live in. In other words, that is where the State is owed to the individuals.” 
Dewey (1916) addressed the definition of education one century ago, contending that 
“the objective and reward of learning is the continuous capability of growth.” According to 
this author, education implies the continuous reconstruction and reorganization of the 
experience accumulated to the meaning of experience itself, and that it raises the ability to 
lead the course of future experiences. He also addressed the impact that social relationship 
can have, particularly between pupils and teachers. 
Just like Freire (1972), he declared that the relationships for learning must be mutual, 
and that it is possible to achieve individual and social change through education. Whether it 
is seen as an action, a right, a process of instruction or a tool for growth, education is a key 
element that will help define the future world, according to UNESCO. 
Koichiro Matsuraw, General Director of UNESCO from 1999 to 2009, expressed that 
 38 
education is not only an aim by itself, but it should also be considered as one of the most 
powerful resources we have to induce the necessary changes to achieve sustainable 
development (Matssura, 2007). Through time, more and more worldwide leaders have agreed 
with this statement, taking in consideration that investing in the education for future 
generations regarding sustainable development is one of the best strategies to assure a better 
future for everyone. 
The second key element of our concept is sustainable development. Traditionally, 
sustainable development has been a difficult concept to define, particularly because it has 
constantly evolved since its conception (UNESCO, 2015). One of the first definitions of 
sustainable development comes from the Brundtland Report (1987), where it is defined as 
“the development that manages to meet the needs of the present without compromising the 
possibility of future generations meeting their own.” 
It was for the first time in 1992 when the discussion on how sustainable development 
had to focus its attention on the educational system and support itself in it to ensure a 
sustainable future for everyone emerged at an international level. In the Agenda 21 the Rio 
Declaration defines in its 36th chapter the main problems the educational faced to achieve 
global sustainable development (Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit, 1992). There are four main 
areas detailed in this chapter: 
1. Improve basic education 
2. Redirect the existing education that deal with sustainable development 
3. Develop the public understanding and raise awareness 
4. Training 
Education for Sustainable Development was a concept formed by the recognition of the 
 39 
difference between “sustainable development education and education for sustainable 
development.” The former was perceived as a theoretical exercise, whereas the latter thought 
about education as a process that could be used as a tool to protect sustainability (McKeown, 
2002). 
UNESCO defines Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) as a “medium to 
change the way in which people think and work, prioritizing collaboration for a sustainable 
future for everyone.” Considering education as a motor for change, in December 2002, the 
General Assembly of the United Nations, in its Resolution 57/254, proclaimed the period 
from 2005 to 2014 as the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development; furthermore, 
designated UNESCO as the lead agency of promotion of the Decade (UNESCO, 2005). 
To achieve the goals set by the Decade of ESD, UNESCO set out practical activities 
through the campaign as demonstrated by the extract below: 
 
 Table 5 
How to implement the Decade? (Taken from UN Decade of Education for Sustainable 
Development, 2005-2014: the DESD at a Glance by UNESCO) 
Promoting and improving quality education: basic education needs to focus on 
sharing knowledge, skills, values and perspectives throughout a lifetime of learning in 
such a way that it encourages sustainable livelihoods and supports citizens to live 
sustainable lives. 
Reorienting educational programmes: rethinking and revising education from nursery 
school through university to include a clear focus on the development of knowledge, 
skills, perspectives and values related to sustainability is important to current and future 
societies. 
Building public understanding and awareness: achieving the goals of sustainable 
development requires widespread community education and a responsible media 
committed to encouraging an informed and active citizenry. 
Providing practical training: All sectors of the workforce can contribute to local, 
regional and national sustainability. Business and industry are, thus, key sites for on-
going vocational and professional training, so that all sectors of the workforce can have 
 40 
the knowledge and skills necessary to make decisions and perform their work in a 
sustainable manner. This Decade will also seek to create synergies with the other global 
initiatives that preceded it, like the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that 
centered on the reduction of poverty; Education for All (EFA) that focuses on the 
universal access to education; and the United Nations Literacy Decade (UNLD) that 
aimed to provide adults with education. All share a common vision: education is the key 
to sustainable development. 
 
This decade was a detonating factor in the production of projects, campaigns, and activities 
to improve the access to Education for Sustainable Development in all levels and social 
contexts. In great measure, these campaigns try to include subjects about sustainable 
development, like climate change and biodiversity in teaching and learning (UNESCO, 2002). 
UNESCO has supported campaigns that encourage its participants to overcome 
challenges, respect cultural diversity and contribute to create a more sustainable world for 
future generations. The main challenge that has been faced during the execution of said 
campaigns is that the curriculum of most school tendsto focus only on improving the 
academic skills of its students (UNESCO, 2002); nonetheless, just as was mentioned 
previously, UNESCO defines Education for Sustainable Development as a medium that 
transforms the way in which people work, collaborate, plan and think. Collaboration with the 
aim to construct a better present and a sustainable future for all is a high priority. 
With a world population of around 7 billion people, and with a limited amount of 
natural resources, various societies and individuals have stressed on campaigns to promote 
learning in future generation, to be able to coexist in this planet sustainably. The General 
Assembly of the United Nations approved sustainable development for the first time in 1987, 
creating at the same time the concept of education to support it. The initial thoughts on 
Education for Sustainable Development can be seen portrayed in the 36th Chapter of the 
Agenda 21 and mark as main goals "the promotion of education, public awareness and 
 41 
training." 
Motivated to change this, UNESCO released in 2015 the Sustainable Development 
Goals (SDGs) adopted by the global community with the purpose to reach a better world by 
2030 (UNESCO, 2015). Goal 4.7 talks about education and ESD and related approaches like 
the Global Citizen Education. Currently UNESCO is responsible for the Global Action 
Programme (GAP) on ESD. 
In the case of Mexico, the administration and the organized civil society have promoted 
and started the Environmental Institution Development Program supported by the National 
Association of Universities and Institutions of Higher Education (ANUIES) and the Mexican 
Consortium of University Environmental Programs for Sustainable Development 
(COMPLEXUS). Moreover, the Mexican government has assumed commitments that favor 
sustainable development, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (1992) sponsored 
by the UN, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and Drout (1994), 
Education for Sustainable Development Kyoto Protocol of the United Nations Framework 
Convention on Climate Change (1998), The Dakar Framework for Action: Education for All: 
Meeting OUR Collective Commitments (2000), Global Citizen Education (2013), and others. 
The Mexican Government has also expressed in different official statements that it considers 
that education is fundamental to reach better conditions for its population. 
During 2006, the Strategy for Environmental Education for Sustainability was 
developed. In its corpus the Environmental Education for Sustainability was defined "with 
the purpose to recognize, strengthen and give continuity to the contributions of over three 
decades of Environmental Education in Mexico." 
 42 
Japan 
The Japanese National Commission for UNESCO, along with the United Nations 
University and the Asia Pacific Cultural Center for UNESCO, celebrated the International 
Forum on ESD Dialogue in 2008. The implementation of activities and studies at local, 
national, regional and international level started to promote teaching for sustainable 
development was discussed. 
 In 2000, “Integrated studies” was introduced to the curriculum of Japanese schools 
from the first grade in elementary school, to the last grade of middle school, before adopting 
the DESD resolution in 2003. This class covers topics through traditional subjects and allows 
the implementation of instruction and learning activities related to education. Some of the 
topics and goals presented in this course include international understanding, information 
education, environmental education, health education, assistance education, and others. 
The knowledge and skills are developed in integrated learning activities and the content 
is based on the personal interests of each student. Integrated Studies works as the base for 
ESD. To move forward with ESD, the programs implemented in this subject must be linked 
integrally and constantly promoting learning activities. To ensure this, the Ministry of 
Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) supports: 1) The formulation 
of a Base Plan for the promotion of education that identifies ESD as a critical component; 2) 
The revision of study courses to allow ESD topics to enter different subject areas and 3) The 
expansion of the UNESCO Associated School Network (ASPnet) (UNESCO, 2009). 
Moreover, UNESCO introduced strong initiatives of the practice of ESD through 
private companies and non-governmental actors. The Japan Association for International 
Education leads the interactions between researchers and professors of social sciences; 
 43 
additionally, the Japanese Society of Environmental Education works constantly with science 
teachers at elementary and middle school level. Both academic societies actively publish 
research papers and activities related to the Education for Sustainable Development. 
United States 
On the other hand, the United States has implemented a series of strategies, reports and 
documents that have the aim to offer a general vision of the state of ESD in the US. In 2015, 
a report made by the United States Department of State was issued among professors of the 
ESD Network of Teacher Education of the United States. It has been observed that teacher 
education, in comparison to the rest of higher education, has been reluctant to accept 
sustainability as a key element of the development for the future (Nolet, 2013). 
ESD is still not part of the requirements for teaching certification, but the Association 
for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education has started to include it in its 
curriculum. Some examples of its implementation in the US took place in the Webster 
University School of Education, West Chester University and University of Antioquia (Nolet, 
2009). Along ESD, there has been a great tradition in the United States to bring awareness to 
the new generation about global education (Maguth y Hillburn, 2015) and this topic can be 
seen in the publication Partnerships for 21st Learning, Framework for State Action on 
Global Education (2014), as one of the crucial issues it discusses it the promotion of global 
and international competences. 
The responsible for the initial training of teachers must arouse the training with global 
content and competencies. The report also recognized the value to encourage the creation of 
networks among teachers and the teachers' educators, and the value of teacher students that 
have international experience. More and more, universities are using the term global 
 44 
citizenship in courses and programs taught. 
Besides the support from different administrations, the curricular practices, seminars 
and workshops that are designed to bring awareness in adults and youngsters about 
sustainable development and the efforts made in on-site format to support and raise 
consciousness about the key role of sustainability, it has also been taken into account the use 
of resources that can teach about these subjects in remote form. For example, an app called 
“SDGs in Action” was developed and shared on the App Store by Apple and the Play Store 
by Google. This app enlists the pending global tasks to reach all the Sustainable Development 
Goals. This app is available thanks to the GSMA Association, which represents over 800 
mobile carriers around the world, and the project Everyone, a global non-profit campaign 
that works to spread the message (UNESCO, 2017). 
Another practice adopted by countries around the world is the promotion of free access 
online courses to bring awareness to its peoples about sustainable development. This is what 
brings us to the research of Massive Open Online Courses, or MOOCs. 
 
Research Problem 
Due to the Mexican Energy Reform that began in 2013, a new era of innovation and education 
has started in the country. Constant research on the energy field